Video of arrest prompts Philadelphia police investigation
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Philadelphia Police Department has opened an Internal Affairs investigation after a video surfaced online allegedly showing officers repeatedly hitting 22-year-old Tyree Carroll during an arrest in April in Germantown.
The suspect's grandmother Nancy Carroll tells Action News she wants the officers fired.
"I think that it was wrong what the cops did to my grandson. He wasn't doing anything," Nancy said.
The video shows a violent struggle between Tyree Carroll and several police officers.
It happened back in April right in front of his grandmother's house on E. Locust Avenue.
The police say officers suspected Carroll had been involved in a drug deal and stopped him on his bicycle.
At the time, Carroll was on probation for a previous drug charge.
In the video, other officers arrive and threaten to use a Taser on Carroll as others can be heard cursing and telling him to put his hands behind his back.
Tyree Carroll can be heard calling for his grandmother.
"He didn't resist. These cops are going to say anything trying to get over. But he didn't resist anything. They lied," Nancy said.
John McNesby, President of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, says he has seen the video.
He says Carroll is clearly resisting and the officers did nothing wrong given the circumstances.
"You could see clearly in the video that he didn't want to be handcuffed. He was doing everything possible not to be handcuffed. He was resisting arrest, assaulting the officers. It just goes to show what we go through. They should be commending the officers rather than opening a big investigation here," McNesby said.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Philadelphia police say "As the officers stopped the defendant, he began to fight with the officers, biting one of the officers a total of three times (thigh, hand and arm). The defendant also bit another officer on the forearm during this arrest."
Carroll's grandmother says he apologized to the officers.
A neighbor shot the video that shows the violent struggle.
Watch the video below. It has been edited for graphic language.
WARNING: To view the unedited video with explicit language, uploaded by Los Angeles based blogger Jasmyne Cannick, click here.
The video has gone viral with many questioning the use of a Taser and the number of officers involved.
McNesby says they would have been justified using a Taser, but there is no evidence that it was used.
Philadelphia police say in the statement "there is no evidence a Taser was used, but an active investigation is underway."
Carroll's grandmother says she didn't see any burn marks on him and that he only complained about a sore ankle when she visited him in jail Thursday.
She says she had only one thought when she viewed that video.
"Here's another black kid being beat by the Philadelphia police. And how many more have went through that and how many more got to go through that?" Nancy said.
The police department says it is still trying to identify all of the officers involved.
The officers remain on active duty while Internal Affairs investigates.
